Satellites Are Being Hacked — And We’re Not Ready

‍
In Episode 2 of Tech Command Investing, host Alain Gavin sits down with Mathieu Bailly, VP at CYSEC, to uncover how satellites, the backbone of modern defence, navigation, and communication have become the next cyber battlefield.
‍
🔸 From Connectivity to Combat:
Once seen as passive communication tools, satellites are now active participants in a new kind of warfare. The Ukraine ViaSat hack exposed how space systems can be disrupted through ground-based cyberattacks without ever touching orbit.
🔸 Unseen Vulnerabilities:
Many satellites still operate “in the clear” transmitting data without encryption or authentication. Ground stations and mission control networks remain wide open to exploitation, making Earth the real weak point in space systems.
🔸 The Skills Gap in Space Engineering:
Aerospace engineers often receive no cybersecurity training, leaving blind spots hardcoded into satellite architecture. As Bailly notes, “We’re building critical infrastructure with outdated assumptions about security.”
🔸 Quantum & AI: The Next Threat Wave:
Quantum computing threatens to break current encryption standards, while AI could automate and accelerate satellite hijacks. These technologies are evolving faster than defence systems can adapt.
🔸 Rogue Docking & Physical Intrusion:
The emergence of autonomous satellite docking, as demonstrated by ISRO’s SpaDeX mission, introduces a new risk: physical contact between satellites that could be weaponized to disable, manipulate, or spy on orbital assets.
🔸 Regulatory & Investment Momentum:
Governments are behind, but catching up fast. France, Germany, the UK, and the EU are embedding cybersecurity into future space laws. For investors, this is a €100 B+ frontier cyber typically represents ~10 % of any mature tech sector, and space is on track to be a trillion-dollar domain.
🔸 Startups, Not Primes, Will Define the Next Decade:
Innovation in space cyber isn’t coming from legacy defence contractors, it’s coming from startups building the foundations of orbital sovereignty, deterrence, and resilience.
As Mathieu Bailly puts it:
“Satellites aren’t just vulnerable — they’re undefended. We need to build space systems with cyber resilience from the start.”
‍
🎧 Listen to the full episode to discover how cyber resilience will define deterrence, sovereignty, and investment across the space economy.

‍
‍
‍
🎧 Listen now:
[Amazon Music] | [Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts] | [YouTube] | [Audible]
‍
‍